The Planning Lady

Echo Park1550 Glendale Blvd.: A vacant retail store being considered for a 24-hour 7-Eleven Store with “off-site” sale of beer and wine. This tiny shopping plaza sits at the corner where Berkeley/Glendale and Alvarado provide some rush hour right and left-turn dramatics -some resulting in hefty moving violation tickets!!!

Greencolander/Flickr

What we know about this application is that Northeast Division Police Captain Murphy does not support it. At a recent Echo Park Chamber of Commerce meeting, the applicant’s representative reported that the Capt. Murphy said he would not support a new, off-site license for the area and would only support the transfer of an existing one should they acquire one. Currently the AM/PM across the street, Vons, Rite Aid and other nearby retailers sell beer and wine along Glendale Blvd, some offering 24-hour access as well. Combine that with the challenge of parking and traffic entering the small lot, and you might see a bit of increased tensions along near Berkeley & Glendale corridor. The applicant did say they would be unlikely to pursue the location if the city failed to approve a permit with conditions.

What’s Going Up?

Hermon5920 N. Monterey Road: This is a proposal for a wireless telecommunications facility on top of the roof of a commercial building that stands 40-feet-tall – the maximum height allowed by zoning. A phone call to the applicant did not get much more information other than they were authorized to say it is for AT&T and that if LA entitlement rules required they would attend a Neighborhood Council meeting to discuss. Depending on the surrounding terrain, neighbors’ views can be impacted, and it is always good to request architectural panels, graffiti-proof coatings and to try to keep it out of sight of neighboring properties. If the height of the antennas exceeds the height limit allowed for the area, neighbors have some leverage in that case as well.

Pettitt/Flickr

Boyle Heights112 S. Rivera Street: We got another proposed wireless telecommunications facility, this one consisting of a 12-panel antenna on the rooftop of a 47-unit apartment building, according to public records. The phone call to the applicant’s representative has yet to be returned. In contrast to the previous wireless facility, this one is proposed for a residential rooftop. Testimony regarding the affects of cellular transmissions on health and welfare cannot be taken into account against these installations but it has proven to bring out irate tenants and neighbors to oppose these installations, most recently at Echo Park’s Del Mor Apartments, 1551 Echo Park Ave.

Silver Lake3310 Larissa Drive: This is a request to divide a lot under the city’s small-lot subdivision ordinance. In general, under the area’s current zoning, the owner could go ahead and build two residential units on a 5,000 square-foot lot that is 50-feet wide without much trouble. However, this lot is just 45-1/2-square feet shy of that 5,000 square-foot requirement How or will that affect this proposed subdivision? Depends largely on how many units would be built and how the neighbors perceive the plans and their sensitivity to the hillside community. Some very nice small-lot projects have recently been built or adaptively reused in the area, so TBD for more details.

Have a lead or link to a recently filed city entitlement report or public hearing you’d like us to ‘translate” or report on? Send an email to the [email protected]. The Planning Lady is in no way a professional planner, employee of the City of Los Angeles or on the dole of any developers. Just a crusty old gal who has gone to one too many Planning Commission meetings!

This small-lot subdivision ordinance is a horror. These very undersized places should not be mixed into a neighborhood with normal sized homes. Not any more than trailers would be. And these small-size homes are little other than trailers, generally being about the width of one except far too many stories tall and pretty much always touching each other, no space between them.

If these small lots are to be permitted at all, they should be relegated to an area for them exclusively, just as a trailer park is.

All small lot subdivisions in a neighborhood of normal size houses should be barred.

Support for FIX from the Captain was established prior to outreach and the belief that there was no opposition from the neighbors and community.

7-11 is sale of alcohol for offsite consumption. FIX is sale of alcohol for onsite consumption. The two have different impacts on communities.

I am personally against FIX for the impact on the residential neighborhood 7 days a week. I am against 7-11 for the traffic issues, 24 hour status, and the fact that plenty of off site locations exist very close. I would support an onsite license in this location because it is commercial, already late night and would not have as much of an impact as the offsite license.

I have supported many alcohol license requests and will continue to do so with the right business and location but I believe each of these have issues.

7-11 is not the kind of place we want in that area. I’m stone throw away from there and have gotten one of those $400 no left turn 4-7pm tickets (I really never noticed the sign). We should have more places that cater to the burgeoning art/music studios and production houses coming in (Bedrock, 2 Headed Horse, Squeak E Clean, etc.). I’m hoping people who work at these places will also live here if they aren’t already.

I am the house closest to this proposed 7 eleven, and I can tell you already that it is ruining my living situation and I may have to move because of this crap. They have already put up a new sign over there and I can literally read a book in my front yard in the middle of the night it is so damn bright. Does anybody know who I can call to complain about this?? It is BEYOND disruptive (see my photo of it at https://www.facebook.com/thecword#!/photo.php?fbid=10150191623049147&set=a.10150191623044147.303406.649044146&type=1&theater). Any help would be very much appreciated. Also, to whoever said the 7 eleven would be in a commercial area – you must not familiar with this street, as it’s almost exclusively homes (not even apartments) owned by people who have lived here for years. This new sign is complete bullshit and I will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in my power to get it removed or at least turned off at night or darkened!! Any suggestions?? Thanks!

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